Here at Big Yellow we’re known for storing your belongings – but did you know that we also offer 500 climate-controlled rooms to store your treasured wine collection? Whether you have 15 or 500 bottles we have the space to keep your whites chilled, reds full of flavour and your fizz… sparkling!

Whether you’ve been given a case for posterity, a bottle to mark a milestone or you’re preparing for a special event – make sure you’re wine is looked after at home.

We’ve put together some top tips from our wine expert Matthew Wicksteed to help you store your wine at home.

1. Stay cool
Wine doesn’t like heat and temperatures higher than 21° C will age it more quickly than necessary. If it gets much hotter your wine might get “cooked,” resulting in flat aromas and flavours. The ideal temperature range to store wine is between 7° C to 18° C. At Big Yellow we restrict the climate of our Wine Cellars to 12° C with a humidity at about 70%.

2. Stay cool but not for too long
Keeping wines in your fridge at home is fine for up to a couple months, but long term, this temperature could cause corks to dry out due to the lack of moisture. This will increase the risk of air seeping into the bottles and damaging the wine. The kitchen is the least suitable place to store wine (although most people do store it here) as it has the greatest heat fluctuation.

3. Keep a consistent temperature
Sudden changes of temperature are permanently damaging. On top of cooked flavours, the expansion and contraction of the liquid inside the bottle might push the cork out or cause seepage. So where possible, make sure you’re storing wine in a place that has a constant temperature.

4. Turn the lights off
As well as heat, light – especially sunlight – can pose a threat to the long-term storage of wine. The sun’s UV rays can degrade and prematurely age wine which is why it comes in coloured glass bottles to protect the liquid from sunlight.

5. Lay back
Bottles that have corks should be stored at a 45° angle in order to keep the liquid up against the cork, which (theoretically) stops the cork from drying out. If you’re planning on drinking these bottles in the near to mid-term, or if the bottles have alternative closures (screw caps, glass or plastic corks), this isn’t necessary.

For more information on storing wine, or if you would like to learn more about the storage we offer at our Wine Cellars in Fulham, visit our website.